Prayer Warriors

Rating:
Summary: Real-life where father and son lose sight of similarities.
Review: As a fundamentalist, straight Christian, you might be surprised that I would recommend this book. But the medium for our witness for Christ is the relationships which we have with others and this book has important lessons about relationships with those we should care the most about. I identified much more with Mr. Miller's father than with Mr. Miller but I appreciate the author showing how hurtful such well-intentioned actions can be. The book reveals a son who believes he cannot help being gay and a father who rejects his son because he "refuses" to change. But there's also the father who believes he cannot help being diametrically opposed to the gay lifestyle and a son who rejects his father because he "refuses" to change. Neither seems to be able to accept the true nature of the other's "compulsion" to act in accordance with his beliefs. I believe in the power of prayer, but that prayer should be "Thy will be done," and we Christians sometimes act as if we are the ones who define God's will. The Prayer Warriors should also be praying for themselves. Read Prayer Warriors and see how similar father and son really are and pray that in similar situations parents and children will find the basis for understanding and growth.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't fool me....
Review: As the sister-in-law of the author, and after reading the other reviews, I feel I must have my say about this book. From the moment the book arrived in the mail from Stuart, I began reading it. Almost from page one, I found so many inconsistencys and half truths I had a hard time giving the book the benefit of the doubt. I feel that I have an advantage over the other readers, in that I was there when all this was happening. Basically the book chronicles the author's unhappiness, alcohol and cocaine abuse, and promiscuity ad nauseum. Much more than I wanted to know about someone's personal life, anyone's personal life. He is bitter, it seems, because his parents had the gall to actually pray for him. These were not prayers and letters of condemnation. OK, maybe they did not want to accept his lifestyle , that is their right. Just as it is his right, he says, to chose his own lifestyle. These people, who I deal with everyday, never once banished him from their life. That was his choice. I cannot feel sorry for someone whose parents are concerned about a son's reckless choice of living, as the book so chronicles. I, as others seem to have been~ was not fooled for one minute.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Story Of True Healing
Review: Bravo to Stuart Howell Miller!

I just completed Mr. Miller's book and I must say it is very well written and to the point. As an openly gay man and a recovering fundamentalist "Christian" who has since found what the true Peace of God means in my life, I am amazed at his honesty and sincerity as he relates how his family chose to react to the news of his homosexuality. As good as their intentions may be , we must remember that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions".

I recommend this book to anyone who needs to learn that the only true healing there is begins within. We can no longer afford to point the finger and say "you caused me this misory". We can only make ourselves miserable. Stuart seems to have learned this lesson. I pray that his family will follow suit.

Thank you Stuart for the valuable lesson in forgiveness and many blessings to you and your family. You now have a new "prayer (peaceful) warrior".

Rating:
Summary: First heartbreaking, then uplifting, but ultimately hollow
Review: I loved this book. It was a very touching story.

Rating:
Summary: Prayer Warriors
Review: I loved this book. It was a very touching story.

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Summary: Since when did prayer hurt?
Review: I must from the start admit that I am the author's sister. Therefore, my opinion may be a bit biased since I know firsthand the whole truth of these so called "prayer warriors." My main concern is that strangers are being deceived concerning our parents. They are wonderful, loving, Christian people who only want the best for their children. Since when has it been wrong to pray for your children and let them know that they, along with others, are routing for you? The author should be thankful that his name is being mentioned to God by so many people on a daily basis. The book is obviously written out of bitterness and not love, which is ironic since that is what the author is so diligently seeking. True love would not write such a slanderous book. As for the spiritual aspect of the book, I believe the author is very confused about true Christianity and what God's Word says. Therefore it is dangerous to those who are not strong in their faith. Readers, please read God's Word for yourselves to form your own opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Love
Review: I read this book in 24 hours. It's like Stuart was writing about my upbringing. I too would love to share with my parents that I am gay, but our fundementalist background prevents that. I know that my coming out would result in a situation similar to Stuart's, yet I hate to lie to them. And as Shakespeare would say, "There's the rub." The Bible says that liars shall have their share of the lake of fire. At least Stuart isn't a liar. He told his family the truth about his life. To his sister and sister-in-law who I have noticed have written responses to this work here at Amazon.com, do you love Stuart? Do you truely love him? It sure seems like you are still bent on judging him rather than showing Christ's unconditional love to him. I love my family and know that someday I will have to tell them the truth. I don't want to be a liar any longer to them. I just pray daily that their reaction will not be the same as the Miller family's reaction, but deep down...I know it will be, and that frightens me to death.

Rating:
Summary: First heartbreaking, then uplifting, but ultimately hollow
Review: Prayer Warriors is a tragic story, to be sure. Stuart's story of coming out as gay to his fundamentalist family and their pained, seemingly heartless response is hard to read. The conflict between Stuart and his family is easy to understand and frustrating to witness; it lays bare the problem that so many people have with fundamentalism - that it so often forces its followers to decide between what they believe and who they love. Stuart has my sympathy (and indeed, my empathy) for having to deal with this at all in the first place.

Despite my heart going out to him, however, my head had a hard time understanding exactly where he was coming from. It seems that many of Stuart's negative experiences were a result of either expecting the worst in a given situation or reacting as negatively as possible. Although certainly he is treated appallingly by his family and former church, Stuart rarely takes any personal responsibility for his own reactions to how others treat him. I felt conflicted when reading: although it was obvious that what his family was doing to him was atrocious, it was just as obvious that Stuart did not exercise the self-control necessary to come away from the experience with anything other than self-indulgent pity.

I was not disappointed by the book's "lack of a resolution" as another reviewer was; in real life, we oftentimes lack true resolutions to true problems such as the ones found here in the Miller family. However, I do have a problem that Stuart chose to share his story when it is obvious he is still deeply disturbed by it; that he seeks to teach an audience about what he learned when it is so clear he has not yet learned everything he should have from his experience.

And who am I to know what Stuart should or should not have learned from this? Just a reader, like any other, drawing my own conclusions from what was presented to me in the pages of this book. That, I think, is this book's final failure: although it is heartwrenching and brutally honest about his personal feelings and experiences, it does not convince its readers of Stuart's ultimate rightness. Stuart, then, comes off as eminently human, but hardly as somebody we should have spent 192 learning from. His honesty is appreciated and his story is truly tragic, but his authority feels hollow.

Rating:
Summary: Prayer Warriors
Review: Stuart... I read your book from cover to cover in less than 48 hours.. I found it very compelling and thoughtful, and especially appreciate the honesty and intellect you displayed in writing it. I think that it is a real human tragedy when people mis-use the power of prayer. Unfortunately, a day will come when these people will have to answer for that sin, too. The book was very well written, and I would highly recommend it. Definitely worth writing a sequel!